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13 July 2017

WAN-IFRA, the global press body which counts the News Media Association among its members, has joined forces with a group of leading associations representing the audience measurement ecosystem to support the European Union in its efforts to reform the ePrivacy Directive.

The Coalition for Audience Measurement is composed of global and European associations such as WAN-IFRA representing the interests of stakeholders that use audience measurement to help finance news media offers to the public.

“In the digital age, our business models require the transparent and secure use of data. An independent press that serves Europe’s public interest must be able to compete effectively with its global competitors. Audience measurement is an essential tool for the industry,” said Gerald Grünberger, chair of WAN-IFRA’s Member Associations Directors Committee.

The NMA is part of the News Media Europe taskforce which is lobbying the European Parliament and Commission.

The NMA and its members have set out the industry’s objections and the necessity for radical revision of the draft regulation to the UK Government.

In meetings and submissions to DCMS, the NMA has highlighted its dangers such as giving Google and other browsers persuasive powers over consumer choice of privacy settings, that could result in the blocking of audience from publishers’ websites, obstruction of audience measurement, imposition of tougher restrictions than GDPR on advertising and marketing- and pointed out that it cannot be the Commission’s intention to drive businesses behind paywalls.